17 Answers

• Reputation: 6 Q&A: 0 0 0 6 0 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0

  4 0 There are tons of good choices, especially in whites. Here are a dozen, off the top of my head. Give me five minutes and I could come up with another dozen. These are mostly $10 or less: Whites: Colombelle Blanc (grapefruit and peaches - yum!) Domaine Astruc Marsannay Domaine Astruc Viognier Henri Bourgeois "Petit Bourgeois" (sauvignon blanc) Lenz Moser Gruner Veltliner "Heuriger" (a full liter!) Rose: Domaine Sorin Rose (or many others, mainly from southern France) Reds: Vale do Bomfim Almanzora Este Protocolo St Francis RED Abel Clement Cotes-du-Rhone Villages (tons of great, cheap wine coming from Cotes-du-Rhone!) Yellow Hawk Cellar "Red Barn Red" (but hurry on this one - the winery is going out of business) MtBakerDave answered in Wine & Cheese Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 6000 Q&A: 113 0 11 4226 721 3 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 6

  3 0 There are loads and loads of good wines for around ten bucks. Go to a wine shop and ask. My local shop, City Cellars in Wallingford, has a ten dollar or less rack by the door that has stuff from all over the world. A classic dirt-cheap standby is La Vielle Ferme Cote du Ventoux. Nothing special, just light, fruity, and drinkable, and won't overpower food. You can find it in lots of supermarkets, too. The Cote du Ventoux is the side of the biggest mountain in Provence, which you might have seen on the Tour de France -- see, now you can tell a story about the wine, which will cover the $9 price tag and any lingering suspicions of classlessness will dissipate! Fnarf answered in Wine & Cheese Week about 1 year ago | Report 1 comment by keshmeshi… 0 0 I've only seen La Vielle Ferme for less than $12 when on sale. keshmeshi commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 2589 Q&A: 52 0 4 1611 142 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 2 Geni

  2 0 My personal favorites are either Segura Vieda or Cristalino cavas (Spanish sparkling wines). They're about $7 - often less on sale - and are perfectly drinkable. And there's just something about a nice dry sparkling wine - it goes with everything, seems festive, and so long as it isn't Andre or Cooks, people seem to assume you spent more than you did. If you prefer to buy locally, Domaine St. Michelle makes a perfectly decent drinkable sparkler for under $12, and it's very often available on sale. My personal preference is for the cavas (Spanish) and proseccos (Italian) rather than American sparkling wines, but that's purely a matter of opinion. All the above are readily available at any grocery store. My secret special sparkling wine, though, is from Toad Hollow winery down in the Napa Valley. It's called Amplexus, and it is a STEAL. If you join their wine club, you can have bottles shipped to you for $11 each, and it's much better than comparable sparklers for $40. The shipping costs are fairly high, so I tend to buy a case at a time. Geni answered in Wine & Cheese Week about 1 year ago | Report 5 comments by Billy in 4C, Jessica, and Geni… 0 0 Good call on the Cristalino. Who doesn't love bubbly? Another good one is Gruet. Its from New Mexico (not really known for wine-growing, but it works) and great bottle for around $10. Billy in 4C commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 I swear by Segura Viudas and Freixenet (both are owned by the same company, Freixenet is $1-2 more expensive and has the fancy black bottle), as well as Cristalino. I personally am not a prosecco fan (I wish I could figure out why), but I love cavas and DSM's brut and blanc de noirs, both of which are usually $10 at Safeway. The wine buyer at the 15th and Thomas Safeway turned me onto vinho verde-- Portuguese "green wine". It's very lightly sparkling and has a lower alcohol level. They don't have VV on the shelf there, but she'll go in back and get it for you. It's readily available at TJ's. Jessica commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 That's a great suggestion, Jessica. I have a TJ's right across the street - I think I'll go look for vinho verde tonight! Geni commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 Jessica, thanks for the recommendation for the vinho verde - I picked it up at T.J.'s yesterday for $4.99, and I LOVE this stuff! Geni commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 Geni, I know, right? VV is amazing, I've been dragging it to every gathering possible and raving about it to people. It's so good, and, once you know what to look for, not hard to find. Jessica commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 1276 Q&A: 14 0 32 376 25 1 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Expert: 3 topics Wine & Cheese Week Food & Drink Eating Out Etiquette Moderator Julia Wayne is a moderator on Questionland Seattle Follow Following 2 Julia Wayne

  2 0 I am a rosé girl myself. And since it's summer-ish time in Seattle, it's a great wine to bring to a barbecue, a dinner party, or as a hostess gift. One of my favorites is an M. Chapoutier Belleruche Cotes-du-Rhone. You can pick it up at Whole Foods for about $8. It's light-to-medium bodied and is very refreshing and drinkable. Another cool thing about it is that the label has braile on it as a tribute to Maurice Monier de La Sizeranne, the late and original owner of Chapoutier’s Hermitage vineyard as well as the inventor of abbreviated Braille. As the website says, “The trademark pays tribute to this man but also expresses the desire to reach out to and include all people with sight-impairments, lovers of good wines…” Other great inexpensive wines include Le ferme julien rosé, which I buy at Trader Joe's for around $7 and the Trentino Lagrein, which is an easy red wine I buy at Ballard Market for about $12. When in doubt, go foreign. Chances are, your friends may have heard of a cheapo domestic wine, like Charles Shaw, but may not have heard of the European version of it. Julia Wayne answered in Wine & Cheese Week about 1 year ago | Report 3 comments by Geni, Julia Wayne, and Geni… 0 0 Ooh, another rose' fan! I love a dry rose'. My personal favorite is Toad Hollow's Eye of the Toad Pinot Rose', but I have to mail-order it. Haven't found anyone up here who carries it. I like the Menage a' Trois rose', too, very inexpensive. Geni commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 Yeah, for sure, the Menage-a-trois rosé is a favorite of mine too. It's on sale right now (this week, and I'm not sure for how long) at QFC in Ballard for $9.99! Another inexpensive rosé I buy on the light side is Aimé Roquesante Côtes De Provence Rosé, which is on sale at the Whole Foods in Interbay this week for around 10 dollars. Enjoy! And, if you ever want to try a slightly more expensive rosé (around 20 bucks), try Château Miraval Côtes de Provence Pink Floyd Rosé 2008. I love it. Let me know if you need help tracking it down! Julia Wayne commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 I picked up the La Ferme Julien at TJ's yesterday for $4.99/bottle! I'm quite thrilled with the quality for the price - thanks for the recommendation. Geni commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 1610 Q&A: 27 0 12 879 49 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0

  2 0 This is easy in Seattle so long as you stay away from shops that cater to last-minute purchase. Safeway gets very good sales on wines, especially Washington wines but also California. Sagelands Merlot, Desert Wind Ruah, and Chateau St Michelle Riesling (just for a few) are all going to get you welcomed. If you go to Trader Joe's, go for Spanish reds. All will cost you under $12 (if you get the Ruah on sale) and all are good. Thriftway and QFC are more expensive for wine so I don't go there. Also, don't buy anything with an amusing label. Sometimes it's OK, but it's a gamble that could get you funny swill. It's never going to be better than a wine with a simple label. CleverScreenName answered in Wine & Cheese Week about 1 year ago | Report 2 comments by Me and Jessica… 0 0 I was going to suggest the Chateau St. Michelle Riesling and Gewurztraminer. Both are good, sweet white wines, that usually sell for $8-9 per bottle at Safeway or QFC. Me commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 I went to Sagelands' tasting room, and they said that the Sagelands that's sold at grocery stores is their very lowest-end stuff, stuff that never sees the tasting room. I think it's still a pretty good deal for a local wine (I like the Freddie's Blend). If you get a chance, get to the tasting room in Wapato and stock up on their nicer stuff, their whites and their rose were nice. Jessica commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 96 Q&A: 3 0 0 38 2 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Expert: 3 topics Wine & Cheese Week Best of 2010: Cooking and Cocktails Cheese & Dairy Follow Following 0

  2 0 One of my all-time faves is a Spanish Rioja: Marques de Caceres (I probably butchered that spelling). It goes for $11-$12 and is full bodied and very versatile. I also highly recommend visiting Vino Verite on Boylston just off Olive. They have an amazing selection, and a great shelf of $10 and under wines that are all solid. Tom and Dave there really know their stuff, and can easily recommend something for you with just a little info about your preferences. They also do a free tasting every Thursday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m. with a range of wines from around $10 and on up. Cheese Vixen answered in Wine & Cheese Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 3 Q&A: 0 0 0 3 0 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0

  1 0 Safeway has great wine deals, especially if you buy 6 bottles at a time. I love Rex Goliath, especially the merlot and cab sav although the shiraz is also decent. With the six bottle discount you are out about $4.50. Barefoot is also ok. Better than $3 chuck, which gives me heartburn and tastes pretty terrible the next day. The black label boxed wines are also decent, although uncomplex, and only the reds. Somebody else said Covey Run and I second that, although if I remember right they have real corks so I try to stay away. Hunter answered in Wine & Cheese Week about 1 year ago | Report 1 comment by Lilting Missive… 0 0 I second Rex Goliath. When I lived in Santa Cruz it was one of the wines we almost always had around. Of course we called it Giant Cock Juice. Lilting Missive commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 15 Q&A: 0 0 0 16 1 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0

  1 0 Palestra Douro Vinho Tinto 2007 Probably the best wine deal in Seattle right now. A stunning blend of Portuguese varietals, dark, inky, spicy and well rounded. 91 points from Spectator, 9.99. Get yo self some. Under ten $, Trader Joe's has a passable Cotes du Rhone in an odd, jug shaped bottle with a brown paper bag colored label for 5.99 Charles Shaw is an abomination unto all things holy, and should not be consumed by anyone at any time, anywhere for any reason. pol pot answered in Wine & Cheese Week about 1 year ago | Report 1 comment by CleverScreenName… 0 0 Charles Shaw barely makes it as cooking wine. In a world that includes decent $5 tempranillo, I see no point at all. CleverScreenName commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 21 Q&A: 0 0 0 30 9 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0

  1 0 Smoking Loon. Ryan Tansey answered in Wine & Cheese Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 1178 Q&A: 28 0 2 681 103 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 1

  1 1 Just go to TJs and buy something that looks good for around $10. Don't think about it, it's not a decision to be made rationally, just grab whatever strikes you. That said: Covey Run's reds are great for the price. House Wine can be had for less than $12 when it's on sale, and that's a great buy. Barefoot's reds are kind of generic but are better than Charles Shaw. I've had good luck with wines that are less than $10 at TJs (considerably less luck with those for under $6). My favorite one I've recently discovered is the Bodega Septima Malbec, although I don't remember which year. If you want to put more thought into it, this is a decent resource: http://traderjoeswine.blogspot.com/ Lilting Missive answered in Wine & Cheese Week about 1 year ago | Report 7 comments by MtBakerDave, Lilting Missive, and CleverScreenName… 0 0 Trader Joe's easily has the worst wine selection in the city, with lots of whatever in a bottle, but at least it's cheap, so you don't waste all that much money. I talked to a Washington winemaker over the winter who told me he gets rid of all his failed experiments at Trader Joe's - he just slaps on a cute label and out it goes. "Better than pouring it down the drain" he says. Regular grocery stores are hit-and-miss, and some are better than others. Pay your money and take your chances. Real wine shops are great. There's always someone there (who knows and loves wine) to ask, and you'll probably get something that will knock you out! MtBakerDave commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 I've had terrible luck at most wine shops around Seattle. I tell the purveyor what I want in a wine, particular flavors, particular characteristics, and almost always I go home with a $20 bottle of fruity wine. Fruity fruity fruity. Big blackberry cherry apple kiwi fruit fruit. Most people who work in wine stores seem like fruit and not much else. Where's the leather? The earth? The metallic? The tobacco? The smoke? The best luck I've had is Ballard Market, TJs, and the wine shop in Wallingford on 45th. I'd much sooner send someone who doesn't know anything about wine to TJs than a random wine shop. Lilting Missive commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 Since the main criteria were "cheap and not embarassing to bring somewhere", I felt good about suggesting grocery stores and agree with this recommendation. TJ's is generally fine if you go Spanish. You're not going to get a fine wine retailing for $50 there, but the people drinking it will be totally happy not having the $50 wine. CleverScreenName commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 I should revise my earlier statement to say that generally I go for South American, Spanish or Italian wines at TJs. South American in particular. Lilting Missive commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 @Lilting, obviously your experience is pretty opposite mine, but I do certainly like wines that taste like fruit, being that wine is made from grapes! Maybe my palate is just more naturally in line with most wine-shop people. I know a lot of people like the taste of oak, but I think a wine that has oak covering up the fruit flavors is actually flawed. I often find cheap wine that tastes heavily of oak and not a lot else. I suspect that's a winemaking choice to cover for fruit that doesn't actually taste very good. Very expensive wine sometimes has enough fruit to hold up to a lot of oak, but those are so massive that I don't really find them pleasurable to drink, and anyway, that's off-topic here. Ballard Market has an excellent wine department - probably the best grocery store selection in the city. I'd feel comfortable shopping there too, if I lived in the neighborhood. Alternately, I've always been steered wrong when I've asked for help at Trader Joe's. Granted, they have some good things there, but it's hidden in a sea of dreck. For wine shops, I can't say anything about City Cellars in Wallingford - I live in Capitol Hill, and don't get over there often. I can say that I never get a bad reccomendation at either European Vine Selections on 15th, or at Vino Verite, and they never try to upsell me into a $20 bottle either. Both have great selections in the around $10 range. I'm convinced that it's hard to go wrong at either place. MtBakerDave commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 @MtBakerDave Palates are going to vary endlessly, but a wine that primarily tastes of fruit it just not that interesting. Give me a dirt and mushroom Pinot, a pepper and tobacco Zin, a bloody ball-bearing in the mouth Malbec. I've had plenty of sub $10 wines that were amazing and held up their non-fruit flavors very well. The fake oak flavor you speak of I despise as well, but I've found to be primarily in cheap CA wines. It is, unfortunately, starting to creep into OR, WA and Australian wines as well, based on my own tasting experiences. I tend to be less adventurous with the cheap wines from those areas. I would actually never even dream of asking someone at TJs for help on wine selection. TJs wine is something to purchased on a gut instinct. Or, like Best Buy, you go in there knowing exactly what you're going to buy. That said, I've had very good luck with their wine as long as I stay away from cheap CA wines (even Blue Fin is no longer Blue Fin). If you get something mediocre, oh well; if you get something undrinkable, make a sauce. Lilting Missive commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 Funny, I think of nearly all the flavors you describe in your first paragraph as being the flavors of fruit. I mean, what else would they be the flavors of, other than wood? The type of yeast and bacteria used for fermentation influences the flavor somewhat, but other than that, there's not really anything else used that imparts flavor in wine. MtBakerDave commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 146 Q&A: 5 0 0 57 11 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Expert: 3 topics Wine & Cheese Week Thanksgiving Food & Drink Alcohol Follow Following 0

  1 1 In general, I find many Spanish garnacha and Portuguese red blends for $6-8. From France, Abel Clement has a grenache red for $6 that's as good as some over-$10 Cotes du Rhone wines, and they also have a white and rose at that price. Box wines are probably the best deal, if you find a decent one. The Vielle Ferme Cotes du Ventoux comes in a 3L box that sells for $20. You can buy the same juice in a 750 ml bottle for $9-10. There are some good Spanish reds for as low as $15 for 3L, but those are now out of stock from the distributor. Also, these box wines with bladders that shrink as you drink can last for days without going bad. If you get up to the $10-12 level, there are many close-out deals on wines that used to be $15-25. The two most startling mark-downs are a Barbi Orvieto Classico reserve for $10 and a Poderi Colla Barbera for about that much. The trouble with close-outs is they can quickly disappear. Doug Nufer answered in Wine & Cheese Week about 1 year ago | Report 1 comment by Violet DaGrinder… 0 0 Yeah, those Abel Clement wines are VERY good for the price. Violet DaGrinder commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 270 Q&A: 4 0 2 208 58 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0

  0 0 Mouton Cadet bordeaux. ~$10/bottle, and it manages to actually drink like a bordeaux for that price. There's also an organic red boxed wine that's perfectly nice. Forget the name, but there aren't a lot of those, so. It's $18/box, which is the equivalent of four bottles. Cheap! Violet DaGrinder answered in Wine & Cheese Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 0 Q&A: 0 0 0 0 0 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0

  0 0 Bandit is a new label of boxed wines. The thing that sets Bandit apart is that its a bottle and 1/3 of wine and its only 8 bucks. The wine is great (the white is not full of sugar, and the red is really mellow) and its got a screw top so if you don't finish it all at one sitting, you can take it to go. They sell it at QFC, next to the Franzia. Sssydneyyy answered in Wine & Cheese Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 0 Q&A: 0 0 0 0 0 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0

  0 0 Covey Run Syrah is consistently good, and you can buy it at most grocery stores for under $10 (often on sale for around $7). I find it to be a medium-bodied, fairly mellow, easy sipping wine. Ryan Craig answered in Wine & Cheese Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 61 Q&A: 1 0 1 27 6 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0

  0 1 When feeling cheap I usually go for the California Pinot Noirs. Blackstone, Firesteed, Aquinas. You should be able to find something under $8-9. Or go for the Chilean Santa Ema Merlot. Sparky answered in Wine & Cheese Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: -1 Q&A: 0 0 0 4 5 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0

  1 4 Charles Shaw from trader joes, will set you back 2.99 I like it, some people don't, but you aren't out much if you don't like it. zentatsu answered in Wine & Cheese Week about 1 year ago | Report 2 comments by MtBakerDave and Billy in 4C… 0 0 I talked to a Washington winemaker about cheap wine one time, and Charles Shaw came up. His thought was that even a cheap bottle, cork, label, shipping and markup is going to cost almost three dollars a bottle by the time it's on the store shelf, and that's without the cost of the wine added in. The point? The wine in Charles Shaw bottles is wine that the producers sold off for virtually nothing - wine that they were probably willing to pour down the drain if they couldn't sell it. Is that something you want to put in your mouth? Not me. MtBakerDave commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 We're talking Franzia left-overs. Seriously. Billy in 4C commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: -153 Q&A: 1 0 0 78 251 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0

  0 4 Vendange if you want a decent Cabernet Sauvignon - you can usually get it for $7 to $8 for a 1.5 liter bottle at Fred Meyer. Most of what you pay $50 a bottle for here in the US is really table wine going for 5 EU over in Europe anyway. Now, if you want a decent dessert wine, a nice Gewurztraminer from around here will do fine. Get the Private Reserve, it's worth the extra buck, cause it's that much better. Will in Seattle answered in Wine & Cheese Week about 1 year ago | Report 1 comment by bigyaz… 0 0 Whether it's politics or transportation or even wine, Will's ignorance knows no bounds. Vendange? Really? bigyaz commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

  Share this answer with a friend: